Hidden Springs & Hidden Estates Neighborhood
Message from the President, Donna Fontaine
Winter 2019-20
Dear Residents,
The holidays are upon us! Time seems to fly.
Finally, finally, the streetlights are being installed. As of the writing of this letter, all of the south side of Cedar Pine, Scots Pine, Majestic Pine and parts of Pitch Pine have been installed. Yes, we were initially told August; however, that didn't happen. Hopefully by Christmas the bulk of them will be installed, and our neighborhood will have a brighter holiday season! If you happen to see a new streetlight that was installed but is not working properly, please call 311 or DUKE LIGHTS OUT at (407) 629-1010. Be sure to give them the closest address to the light.
Old Streetlight
New Streetlight
We had a very busy last quarter. In September, Vinod and Zamina – again – graciously opened their home to Happy Hour. Everyone had a great time. There were about 30 to 40 people who attended. This is such a nice way to either meet a new neighbor or reconnect with an old one. Everyone brings an appetizer and whatever drink they enjoy. If you are ever interested in hosting, please reach out to our Board Member Karen Butler at HOA@HiddenSpringsEstates.org.
In September, we held our annual HOA General Meeting. Aprons at Publix let us use their venue. In addition to the Board, we had great guest speakers, including Terri Thiel with the County’s Water Conservation; Adam Greschler from Woodlawn, and our host Chef Emily from Aprons. Deputy Perry Troutman was also able to join us. He talked to us about crime stats and things we need to be vigilant of. For those of you who don't know, our dues enable us to pay for Deputy Troutman to patrol our neighborhood a certain number of hours per week. The biggest issue lately is speeding. School is in session, and moms and dads are rushing to get the kids to and from school. Unfortunately, most of the speeders are the parents. Please know that if Deputy Troutman sees you speeding, he will issue tickets. We cannot stress enough the dangers of speeding. Our neighborhood is bursting with children. So, we're begging, please slow down.
And speaking of children, what a turnout at National Night Out. We had more deputies to answer questions, Jeremiah’s Ice Cream truck, games and a balloon artist for the kids. Honestly, I couldn't believe the number of children that were out there. We must have had 100 people, at least. Thank you, Adam, for being the best grill master, and thank you, Vinod and Zamina, for allowing us to use your grill.
We do have some not so great news. Contributions are way down. In a normal year, only about 50 percent of the homeowners contribute. We are struggling to even keep that statistic. You must know we cannot keep our neighborhood safe, maintain all the entrances, pressure clean walls, trim the palm trees on medians, water and electric at the three entrances and more without your dues. So please, for those who have not contributed, we rely on you. Costs never decrease over time. Everything goes up. Please keep that in mind when you receive those Contribution Notices. Thank you to Traci Briggs, Jean Hogerson and Paula Festa for volunteering to help stuff the contribution envelopes. It was well appreciated.
Everyone stay safe and have a wonderful Holiday Season!
Sincerely,
Donna Fontaine
HOA President